Material handling device for feeding labels to a sewing machine

ABSTRACT

A material handling device on a sewing machine for feeding labels one at a time to a movable vacuum pickup head on the machine which moves the label to a position on the sewing machine adjacent the needle for sewing of the label onto a garment. The labels are cut from a strip wound on a reel. A reciprocable finger moves a portion of the strip along a surface and thereby unwinds the strip from the reel. On each label-feeding stroke of the finger, the strip is advanced a distance equal to the length or width of a label past a cutter and downwardly onto an elevator platform. The upper surface of the platform has at least one aperture therein which is connected to a vacuum source. The label is in a position on the platform covering the aperture and is held in position on the platform by vacuum from the vacuum source. With the label positioned and held on the platform, the cutter is actuated to cut the label from the remainder of the strip. While the cutter is cutting the label from the remainder of the strip, the elevator platform is simultaneously elevating the label to a position above the surface for subsequent pickup by the movable vacuum pickup head on the machine. As the pickup head moves into position to pick up the label, the vacuum is disconnected from the aperture in the platform so as to release its hold on the label and is connected to the pickup head. The pickup head by vacuum picks up the label and moves it from its position on the elevator platform to a position adjacent the needle for sewing of the label onto a garment. The elevator platform and cutter are lowered to their initial position. The finger then advances the strip a distance equal to the length or width of a label past the cutter and onto the platform. When the machine operator desires another label, the label is cut from the remainder of the strip, elevated, picked up, and positioned adjacent the needle and thereafter the next label is advanced past the cutter and onto the platform.

United States Patent [191 Goodson [451 Nov. 25, 1975 1 1 MATERIALHANDLING DEVICE FOR FEEDING LABELS TO A SEWING MACHINE [76] Inventor:Sam M. Goodson, 1107 Fleetwood Drive, Lookout Mountain, Tenn.

221 Filed: May 24,1974

[21] Appl. No.: 473,200

[52] U.S. CI. 112/104 [51] Int. Cl. D0513 3/12 [58] Field of Search112/104, 88, 99,100,101, 112/11, 203, 252, 121.12, 130, DIG. 3, 423,

121.26, 121.11, 121.15; 2l4/l.l-l.7; 270/61 3,377,972 4/1968 Cohen etal. 112/104 3,477,398 ll/l969 Weigert 112/104 3,513,791 5/1970 Fulp112/104 3,699,907 10/1972 Anderson et a1. 112/104 X 3,766,870 10/1973Weigert 112/104 3,792,672 2/1974 Friedman et al 112/104 PrimaryExaminerGeo. V. Larkin Attorney, Agent, or FirmStevens, Davis, Miller &Mosher [57] ABSTRACT A material handling device on a sewing machine forfeeding labels one at a time to a movable vacuum pickup head on themachine which moves the label to a position on the sewing machineadjacent the needle for sewing of the label onto a garment. The labelsare cut from a strip wound on a reel. A reciprocable finger moves aportion of the strip along a surface and thereby unwinds the strip fromthe reel. On each label-feeding stroke of the finger, the strip isadvanced a distance equal to the length or width of a label past acutter and downwardly onto an elevator platform. The upper surface ofthe platform has at least one aperture therein which is connected to avacuum source. The label is in a position on the platform covering theaperture and is held in position on the platform by vacuum from thevacuum source. With the label positioned and held on the platform, thecutter is actuated to cut the label from the remainder of the strip.While the cutter is cutting the label from the remainder of the strip,the elevator platform is simultaneously elevating the label to aposition above the surface for subsequent pickup by the movable vacuumpickup head on the machine. As the pickup head moves into position topick up the label, the vacuum is disconnected from the aperture in theplatform so as to release its hold on the label and is connected to thepickup head. The pickup head by vacuum picks up the label and moves itfrom its position on the elevator platform to a position adjacent theneedle for sewing of the label onto a garment. The elevator platform andcutter are lowered to their initial position. The finger then advancesthe strip a distance equal to the length or width of a labelpast thecutter and onto the platform. When the machine operator desires anotherlabel, the label is cut from the remainder of the strip, elevated,picked up, and positioned adjacent the needle and thereafter the nextlabel is advanced past the cutter and onto the platform.

30 Claims, 10 Drawing Figures U.s. Patent Nov.25,1975 Sheath 3,921,549

"*"UQS; Pa tent Nov. 25, 1975 Sheet30f6 3,921,549

r Patent Nov. 25, 1975 Sheet4of6 3,921,549

b 5 2M k 211E- Sheet 5 of 6 3,92,549

I US. Patent Nov. 25, 1975 MATERIAL HANDLING DEVICE FOR FEEDING LABELSTO A SEWING MACHINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relatesto improvements in prior art machines for sewing labels on garments and,in particular, to material handling devices for feeding labels one at atime to a movable vacuum pickup head on the machine which moves thelabel to a position on the sewing machine adjacent the needle for sewingof the label onto a garment; of'which U.S. Pat. No. 3,377,972 to Cohenet al is one example of such prior art machines.

In the label sewer described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,377,972, a plurality ofcut labels are stacked vertically and placed in a magazine. The labelsare picked up one at a time from the top of the stack by the movablevacuum pickup head of the sewing machine and moved to a positionadjacent the needle for sewing of the label onto a garment. However,because the lables are made of a woven fabric and are therefore porous,it is difficult to consistently pick up just one label at a time fromthe stack by vacuum. In fact two, three, and as many as twelve labelsmay be picked up at one time from the stack by the vacuum pickup headand subsequently sewn onto agarment. As a result scrap losses increasebecause many labels and garments to which they are attached are wastedand, more manual handling of the labels and garments is required, all ofwhich unnecessarily increases the unit cost of the garment.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION This invention overcomes the deficiency of theprior art devices in a material handling device on a sewing machine byconsistently feeding labels one at a time to a position on the sewingmachine adjacent the needle for sewing of the label onto a garment.

The sewing machine includes a movable vacuum pickup head which picks upthe labels one at a time from an elevator platform and moves a label toa position on the sewing machine adjacent the needle for sewing of thelabel onto a garment. The labels are cut from a strip wound on a reel.The strip may have transverse slits cut along the length thereof whichare equally spaced apart a distance equal to the desired length or widthof the labels. The transverse slits may be cut generally near thelongitudinal centerline of the strip and do not extend to either of thelongitudinal edges of the strip. A reciprocable finger moves a portionof the strip along a surface and thereby unwinds the strip from thereel. The finger is driven by a piston in a cylinder and has a tip whichextends downwardly and in a label-feeding direction. The surface has alongitudinally extending groove and a portion of the tip of the fingerextends downwardly into the groove. A portion of the strip unwound fromthe reel is positioned on the surface with the longitudinal centerlineof the strip portion being substantially directly above and parallel tothe longitudinal centerline of the bottom of the groove. On eachlabel-feeding stroke of the finger, a portion of the tip of the fingerengages one of the slits and advances the strip a distance equal to thelength or width of a label past a cutter and downwardly onto an elevatorplatform. The upper surface of the platform has at least one aperturetherein which is connected to a vacuum source. The label is in aposition on the platform covering the aperture and is held in positionon the platform by vacuum from the vacuum source.

2 When the machine operator desires a label, the cutter is actuated andthe label which is positioned and held on the platform is cut from theremainder of the strip. While the cutter is cutting the label from theremainder of the strip, the elevator platform is simultaneouslyelevating the label to a position above the surface for subsequentpickup by the movable vacuum pickup head on the machine. As the pickuphead moves into position to pick up the label, the vacuum isdisconnected from the aperture in the platform so as to release its holdon the label. The vacuum disconnected from the aperture in the platformis connected to the pickup head. The pickup by vacuum picks up the labeland moves in from its position on the elevator platform to a positionadjacent the needle for sewing of the label onto a garment. The elevatorplatform and cutter are then lowered to their initial position. Thefinger then advances the strip a distance equal to the length or widthof a label past the cutter and onto the platform. When the machineoperator desires another label, the label is cut from the remainder ofthe strip, elevated, picked up by the movable vacuum pickup head andpositioned adjacent the needle, and thereafter the next label isadvanced past .the cutter and onto the platform.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION A primary object of this invention is toprovide an improved material handling device on a sewing machine whichwill consistently feed labels one at a time to'a movable vacuum pickuphead on the sewing machine which moves the label to a position on thesewing machine adjacent the needle for sewing of the label onto agarment. I

'A further object of this invention is to provide an improvement whichwill decrease scrap losses by wasting fewer labels and garments to whichthey are subsequently attached, and thereby avoid unnecessarilyincreasing the unit cost of the garment.

These and other objects of the invention will become apparent after aconsideration of the following detailed description taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings wherein like reference charactersdesignate like parts throughout the several views.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the sewingmachine, including the pickup head and material handling device, withthe fingercarrying piston rod and cylinder removed for purposes ofclarity;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the sewing machine, including the pickuphead and material handling device, with the finger-carrying piston rodand cylinder shown;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view along line 3-3 of FIG. 1; as:

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the material handling device;

FIG. 5 is a sectional view along line 5-5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view along line 6-6 of FIG. 1 and showing theelevator platform in its initial lowered position;

FIG. 7 is a view taken along line 7--7 of FIG. 9 and is similar to FIG.6 but shows the elevator platform in its elevated position;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view along the line 8-8 of FIG. 1 and showing theelevator platform in its initial lowered position;

FIG. 9 is a view taken along line 9-9 of FIG. 7 and is similar to FIG. 8but shows the elevator in its elevated 3 position; and

FIG. is a schematic representation of the pneumatic circuit forcontrolling the various components of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT Referring to FIGS. 1and 2, a sewing machine is shown having a conventional sewing head 1 andreciprocable needle bar 2 carrying a sewing needle 3 in the usualmanner. Disposed beneath the forward end of the sewing head 1 is amovable vacuum pickup head 4 which is pivotable about a verticallyextending shaft 5. The pickup head 4 has at least one aperture 40therein which is connected to a vacuum source through a line 4b. Thepickup head 4 has an arm 6 extending transversely therefrom which isconnected through a pivot pin 7 to a cam actuated linkage 8. The linkage8 is driven by a cam 9 mounted on a cam shaft 10. The cam shaft 10 isrotatably driven through appropriate clutching by a motor.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cam actuated linkage 8 includes a rocker arm 11swingably supported by an axle 12 which is supported by a pair ofaxially spaced brackets 13. The rocker arm 11 includes a cam followerportion 110. The axle 12 is rearwardly of, below, and parallel to thecam shaft 10. The cam actuated linkage 8 also includes an angulatedconnector rod 14 which is pivotallyconnected to the rocker arm 11 by apivot pin 15. As shown in FIG. 3, cam 9 includes a raised section 9a anda depressed section 9b. When the section 9a engages the cam followerportion 11a, the vacuum pickup head 4 swings outwardly from the sewinghead 1 to a position, above a work station or elevator platform 26 ofthe material handling device to be subsequently described. When thesection 9b engages cam follower portion 11a, the vacuum pickup head 4swings inwardly toward the sewing head 1 to a position adjacent theneedlefor sewing a label, picked up by the pickup head from the elevatorplatform, onto a garment. The above movement is effected as follows: therespective cam section 9a or 9b of cam 9 pivots the rocker arm 11 aboutaxle 12 which through pivot pin 15 moves connector rod 14 rearwardly orforwardly respectively to swing, through pivot pin 7, arm 6 and pickuphead 4 about shaft 5 outwardly or inwardly respectively.

Also a mechanism is provided on the sewing machine to effect a loweringand raising of the vacuum pickup head 4 when it is in its outwardposition above the work station or elevator platform 26 to assist inpicking up a label therefrom. This mechanism is likewise actuated by acam on the cam shaft 10. Each of the above movements and mechanisms foreffecting them are similar to those described in the aforesaid US. Pat.No. 3,377,972 whose disclosure is incorporated by reference herein.

The material handling device is shown most clearly in FIG. 4. The labelsL to be fed to the sewing head 1 are wound in strip form on a reel 16freely rotatably supported by a pair of upstanding brackets 17 mountedon a table 18. The strip S of labels may have transverse slits 19 cuttherein. The slits 19 are equally spaced apart a distance equal to thedesired length or width of a label L so as to define a label L betweeneach adjacent pair of slits 19. The slits 19, if provided, may be cutgenerally near the longitudinal centerline of the strip and terminateinwardly of each of the longitudinal edges of the strip 5.

A reciprocable finger 20 moves a portion of the strip S along a surfaceof the table 18 and thereby progres. sively unwinds the strip S from thereel 16. The finger 20 is driven by the piston rod 21 of an air actuatedpiston in a cylinder 22. Finger 20 has a tip 20a which extendsdownwardly and in a forward label-feeding direction.

The surface of the table 18 has a longitudinally extending groove 23 cuttherein. A portion of the tip 20a of the finger 20 extends downwardlyinto the groove as shown in FIG. 5. The length of the groove istherefore substantially coincident with but preferably longer than thestroke of the finger 20.

A pair of longitudinally extending guide elements 24 are mounted on thesurface of table 18. The guide elements 24 are transversely spaced aparta distance substantially equal to but slightly larger than the width ofthe strip S of labels L. The guide elements 24 are symmetricallydisposed relative to the longitudinal centerline of the groove 23 sothat the groove 23 is positioned centrally therebetween.

The reciprocable finger 20 may move a portion of the strip S along thesurface of the table 18 by exerting a downward and forward pressure onthe surface through the strip S. However, in this preferred embodiment,the stroke of the finger 20 is made slightly longer than the length orwidth of a label L (i.e., the spacing of the slits 19 if they areprovided) so that on a rearward stroke of piston 21 and finger 20 thetip 20a passes over one of the slits 19. Thereafter, during the forward,label-feeding stroke, the portion of the tip 20a in groove 23, which isurging a small length of the strip S along the longitudinal centerlinethereof downwardly, engages the slit which it had passed on the rearwardstroke and moves the strip S forwardly a distance substantially equal tothe length or width of a label L.

On each forward, label-feeding stroke of the finger 20, the strip isadvanced a distance equal to the length or width of a label past acutter 25 and downwardly onto the work station or elevator platform 26.

The cutter 25 comprises a stationary blade 25a and a movable blade 25abetween which the strip is fed.

The stationary blade 25a is a metal bar which is secured at one end 27to the surface of the table 18 by nuts 28. The other end 29 of the baris not secured to the table. The bar extends transverse to thelabel-feeding direction. The forward transverse edge 30 of the barcooperates with the movable blade 25b for cutting the label from theremainder of the strip S after the label has passed therebetween.

As shown in FIG. 6, the portion 31 of the bottom of the stationary blade25a extending from the middle thereof to the end 30 is bevelled.Immediately below this portion of the bottom of the bar is a recess cutin the surface of the table 18. As shown in FIG. 6, the labels being fedto the elevator block 26 contact the bevelled portion 31 and aredirected downwardly to the elevator block 26. The recess and thebevelled portion 31 provide a large passageway so that the forward edgeof a label which is downwardly directed by the bevelled portion 31 willnot contact portions of the surface of the table 18, thereby avoidingthe possibility of the labels buckling up and not being fed to theelevator block 26. Likewise, as shown in FIG. 6, the rear edge of thebevelled portion 31 is a sufficient distance above the surface of table18 so as to avoid any direct obstructing contact with the strip andthereby prevents the buckling up of any 'of the labels or the strip.

The movable blade b and the elevator block 26 lie within a generallyrectangular opening 33 cut in the surface of table 18.

The upper surface 34 of the movable blade 25b is up wardly andrearwardly bevelled (FIG. 7) to provide a cutting edge 35 along theupper rear edge thereof. The edge 35 cooperates with the forwardtransverse edge of stationary cutter 25a for cutting the labels from thestrip. The movable blade 25b is secured to the rear edge of one arm 36aof a bell crank 36. The bell crank 36 is pivotable about a pivot pin 37secured to a bracket 38 which depends from the table 18. A spring 37asurrounds pivot pin 37 between a portion of the bracket 38 and the bellcrank 36. Spring 37 thereby biases, through the bell crank 36, themovable blade 25b in a direction toward the stationary blade 25a forgood shearing relation therewith. The other arm 36b of the bell crank 36has its face end connected through a pivot pin 39 to the end of a pistonrod 40. The piston rod 40 is reciprocable by means of an air actuatedpiston in a cylinder 41 secured to the bracket 38. Movement of pistonrod 40 into cylinder 41 pivots the bell crank 36 clockwise about pivotpin 37 and moves the movable blade 25b upwardly past stationary blade25a for cutting. Likewise, movement of piston rod 40 out of cylinder 41pivots the bell crank 36 counterclockwise about pivot pin 37 and movesthe movable blade 25b downwardly from the stationary blade 25a to itsinitial position.

The work station or elevator block 26 sets on and is supported by theupper surface of the arm 360. One portion 43 of the bottom 42 of theelevator block 26 is generally level and the other portion 44 isbevelled. An edge separates portion 43 from portion 44. As shown in FIG.8, the bevelled portion 44 rests on the upper edge of arm 36a in theinitial lowered position. As the bell crank 36 pivots clockwise aboutpivot pin 37 the upper edge of the arm 360 has the edge 45 in contacttherewith and the arm 36a moves the elevator block 26 upwardly. As shownin FIG. 9, in the full elevated position the portion 43 rests on theupper edge of arm 36a. Also as the bell crank 36 pivots counterclockwiseabout pivot pin 37 the arm 36a and elevator block 26 thereon movedownwardly to the initial position.

As shown in FIG. 8, a pair of posts 46, 47 extend downwardly from thebottom 42 of the elevator block 26. The posts ride in holes 48, 49 cutin the horizontal leg 50 of a bracket 38 which is secured to table 18. Aspring 51 is placed over the bottom end of the post 46 which extendsfrom the horizontal leg 50 of the bracket 38. A cap 52 is secured to theend of the post 46 and thereby compresses spring 51 between itself ofthe bottom of leg 50 for urging the elevator block 26 downwardly againstthe upper edge of the arm 36a. The holes 48, 49 guide the posts 46, 47and thereby the elevator block 26 so that the elevator block 26 movesonly vertically and not horizontally.

The upper surface of the elevator block is substantially level and hasat least one aperture 26a therein. The aperture 26a is connected by aline 26b to the source of vacuum V. Appropriate valving to besubsequently described switches the vacuum from vacuum source V betweenthe aperture 26b in the elevator block 26 and the aperture 40 in thevacuum pickup head 4.

The elevator block 26 is initially positioned below the table 18 so asto permit the forward edge of a label being fed thereto to clear therear edge of the platform 6 26 and thereby prevent the possible bucklingup of the label on the strip being fed thereto.

All of the above-described parts of the material handling device forwardof the finger 20 have been positioned adjacent or below the surface ofthe table 18 so as to provide clearance for, and to avoid contact with,the pickup head 4 when it moves into position above the elevator block26 and picks up a label from the block 26. Likewise as shown in FIG. 7,the elevator platform 26 is elevated above the surface of table 18 forpickup of a label by the pickup head 4 to further provide such clearanceand avoid such contact. Otherwise, if the pickup head 4 had to belowered to the level of the surface of table 18 such undesired contactcould not be avoided.

The timed sequential movement of the various parts of the invention arecontrolled by a cam 54 on cam shaft 10. The cam 54 has a raised portion540 and a depressed portion 54b. A cam actuated valve 55 is controlledby the cam 54. A control rod 56 extends from one end of the valve 55.The valve 55 is controlled by movement of the rod 56 therein. A lever 57extends downwardly over the rod 56. The lever is pivoted about a pin 58which is secured to an edge of the valve 55. As

shown in FIG. 10, upon clockwise rotation of the cam 54, the raisedportion 54a engages the lever 57 and moves it toward the valve 55. Thelever 57 thereby depresses the control rod 56 into the valve 55 forcontrol thereof.

FIG. 10 shows the pneumatic circuit controlled by the cam actuated valve55. Valve 55 is a two-position spring return control valve and is shownin FIG. 10 in its initial position. From the source of air pressure P,air under pressure moves through lines 59 and 61 to maintain the pistonin cylinder 41 in the right position shown. The movable cutter 25b andthe elevator platform 26 are held in their initial lowered position bythe piston rod 40. Also the piston rod 21 in cylinder 22 is holding thefinger 20 in its forwardmost position with a label positioned on theelevator block 26. At this time the source of vacuum V is connected tothe aperture 4a of pickup head 4 through valve 70. From this initialposition of valve 55, one complete cycle of operation will now bedescribed.

When the machine operator desires another label to be sewn, suitablemechanism effects a 360 rotation of the cam shaft 10 and cams 9 and 54.Upon rotation of cam 54 by cam shaft 10, raised portion 544: pivotslever 57 about pin 58 to depress control rod 56 into control valve 55.Upon depression of control rod 56, the air under pressure from source Pis shifted from lines 59 through 63 to lines 65 through. 69. Lines 59through 63 are now connected to atmosphere through the valve 55. The airunder pressure in line 67 moves through the adjustable restrictor 71a ofthe adjustable flow control valve with bypass 71 and moves the piston incylinder 41 from right to left. As previously described, the piston rod40 thereby moves the movable cutter 25a and elevator platform 26upwardly. The adjustable restriction 71a controls the speed at which thepiston and piston rod 40 moves and thereby controls the rate of ascentof movable cutter 25b and elevator platform 26.

The air forced from the left end of cylinder 41 moves through lines 61and 59 through valve 55 to the atmosphere. Therefore, as no air underpressure enters lines 60, 62, 63, the piston in cylinder 22 remains inits initial right position.

Simultaneously with the movement of the piston in cylinder 41 from rightto left, the air under pressure in lines 66 and 69 actuates thetwo-position spring return valve 70 to shift the source of vacuum V fromthe aperture 4a of the pickup head 4 to the aperture 26a of elevatorblock 26 through line 261). By this vacuum the label is securely held onelevator block 26 during the cutting and elevating.

Simultaneously with the above-described movements cam 9 is likewiserotated and raised section 9a engages cam follower portion 11a to swingthe vacuum head 4 outwardly from the sewing head 1 to a position abovethe elevator block 26.

Also simultaneously with the above-described movements, the air underpressure is moving from line 66 into line 68 through an adjustablerestrictor 72a of an adjustable control valve with bypass 72. Restrictor72a is adjusted so that just after elevator block 26 reaches itselevated position and just before the pickup head 4a moves to pickup thelabel from the elevator block 26, sufficient air under pressure haspassed through restrictor 72a and into line 68, which together with thespring force of the return spring in valve 70, overcome the pressureexerted in line 69. Thereby the source of vacuum V is shifted from theline 26b back to the line 4b. Thereby the vacuum exerted throughaperture 26b is cut off and releases the label and the vacuum exertedthrough aperture of the pickup head 4 causes the label to be picked upby the pickup head 4 when it moves into position for such pickup.

The head 4 is lowered, picks up the label, and then raises. After pickupof the label by the head 4 and the raising thereof, the cam shaft 10 hasrotated cam 9 so that the raised portion 9a has passed the cam followerportion 11a. The cam follower portion 11a then en gages depressedsection 9b of cam 9 and the pickup head 4 is swung inwardly to thesewing head 1 to a position adjacent the needle 3 for sewing the labelonto a garment.

Likewise after pickup of the label, the cam shaft 10 has rotated the cam54 so that the raised portion 54a passes the lever 57 and releases it.Thereby the spring in valve 55 returns the control rod 56 to its initialposition and the source of air under pressure P is shifted from linesthrough 69 back into lines 59 through 63. Lines 65 through 69 are nowconnected to atmosphere through valve 55. The spring in valve 70maintains the source of vacuum V to line 4b. The air under pressureshifts the piston in cylinder 41 from left to right. The piston rod 40thereby moves the movable cutter 25a and elevator platform 26 backdownwardly to their initial lowered position.

Simultaneously with the movement of the piston in cylinder 41 from leftto right, the air under pressure in lines 60 and 63 actuates the twoposition spring return valve 64 to shift the source of air underpressure P from line 76 to line 74 to move the piston in cylinder 22from left to right. Thereby piston rod 21 moves through its reversestroke and moves finger 20 rearwardly to its rearward position. The airleaving the right end of cylinder 22 passes to the atmosphere throughline 76.

Also simultaneously with the movement of the piston in cylinder 41 fromleft to right and the movement of the piston in cylinder 22 from left toright, the air under pressure is moving from line 60 into line 62through an adjustable restrictor 73a of an adjustable control valvc withbypass 73. Restrictor 73a is adjusted so that after the piston incylinder 41 reaches its far right position sufficient air under pressurehas passed through restrictor 73a and into line 62, which together withthe spring force of the return spring in valve 64, overcome the pressureexerted in line 63. Thereby, the source of air under pressure P isshifted from line 74 back to line 76. Thereby the piston rod 21 movesthrough its forward stroke and moves the finger 20 forwardly in alabelfeeding direction to move another label onto elevator platform 26.The air leaving the left end of cylinder 22 passes to the atmospherethrough line 74 and adjustable restrictor 75. The restrictor 75 controlsthe speed at which the piston rod 21 moves and thereby controls thespeed of the finger 20 in its forward label-feeding movement. After thecam shaft 10 has rotated so that cam follower portion 11a engagesdepressed portion 9b of cam 9 and raised portion-54a has passed level57, the cam shaft stops its rotation. The cam shaft 10 has thuscompleted 360 of rotation. One complete cycle has now been described.

When the operator desires another label to be sewn onto a garment theabove-described cycle is repeated.

I claim:

1. A material handling device for use with a machine having a pickuphead for moving pieces of material cut from a strip from one position toanother position, said device comprising:

a substantially horizontally extending platform for supporting a portionof material,

means for feeding a portion of a strip of material to said platform in amaterial-feeding direction,

and a cutter intermediate said feeding means and said platform forcutting a portion of material from a strip of material whereby after aportion of material is cut from a strip of material that portion lies onthe platform.

2. The material handling device of claim 1 further comprising: I

a base having a substantially horizontally extending surface beneath thefeeding means,

the feeding means feeds the material along the surface to the platform,

and the platform receives a portion of material from the feeding meansand thereafter elevates the portion to a position above the surface tobe picked up by a pickup.

3. The material handling device of claim 2 wherein:

the cutter comprises a movable blade which extends transverse to thematerial-feeding direction and is initially positioned below thesurface,

and the movable blade moves upward to cut the portion as the platformelevates the portion.

4. The material handling device of claim 3 wherein:

the platform is elevated in response to the upward movement of themovable blade.

5. The material handling device of claim 4 wherein:

the movable blade is secured to a transversely extending arm of a crankarm,

the other arm of the crank arm being Connected to a means for actuatingthe movable blade,

the movable blade being pivotable about a longitudinally extending axisdefined by the point of intersection of the arms of the crank arm, and

the bottom of the platform rests on the transversely extending arm sothat when the movable blade is actuated by the actuating means, thetransversely extending arm pivots about said axis and moves upward andsimultaneously elevates the platform and moves the movable blade upward.

6. The material handling device of claim 2 wherein:

the base has a longitudinally extending groove therein which extendsbelow the surface,

the feeding means comprises a reciprocable finger driven by a piston ina cylinder,

the finger has a tip which extends downwardly and in a material-feedingdirection, and a portion of the tip extends into the groove,

the strip of material is fed from a reel on which the strip has beenwound, said strip having a plurality of spaced transversely extendingslits therein,

and the reciprocable finger has a stroke longer than the spacing betweenadjacent slits whereby on each materialfeeding stroke of the finger thetip thereof engages one of the slits and advances the strip material adistance substantially equal to the spacing between adjacent slits.

7. The material handling device of claim 6 wherein:

a pair of guide elements are positioned on said surface,

said elements being spaced apart a distance substantially equal to thewidth of the strip with the groove positioned centrally therebetween forguiding the strip along the surface as the strip is fed by said feedingmeans.

8. The material handling device of claim 2 wherein:

the elevator platform is initially positioned below the surface.

9. The material handling device of claim 8 wherein:

the cutter comprises a movable blade extending transverse to thematerial-feeding direction and is initially positioned below thesurface,

said cutter also comprising a stationary blade positioned adjacent saidsurface and extending trans verse to the material-feeding direction,

the stationary blade has a bevelled portion which faces downwardly andin a direction opposite to the material-feeding direction for guidingthe portion of the strip from the surface downwardly to the initialposition of the work station and for also positioning the strip betweenthe stationary blade and movable blade for cutting the portion from thestrip when said movable blade moves upward past said stationary blade.

10. The material handling device of claim 1 wherein:

the platform comprises an upwardly facing surface having at least oneaperture therein,

and means connecting said at least one aperture to a vacuum sourcewhereby a portion of material lying on said surface will be held thereonby vacuum.

11. The material handling device of claim 10 herein: said surface issubstantially level.

12. A machine comprising:

a substantially horizontally extending platform for supporting a portionof material,

means for feeding a portion of a strip material to said platform in amaterial-feeding direction,

a cutter intermediate said feeding means and said platform for cutting aportion of material from a strip of material whereby after a portion ofmaterial is cut from a strip of material that portion lies on theplatform,

and a pickup head for picking up a cut portion of material lying on saidplatform and for moving the cut portion from its position on theplatform to another position on the machine.

13. The machine of claim 12 wherein:

said machine is a sewing machine having a sewing needle, and said pickuphead picks up a cut portion of material from said platform and moves thecut portion from its position on the platform to another position on thesewing machine adjacent the needle.

14. The maching of claim 12 further comprising:

a base having a substantially horizontally extending surface beneath thefeeding means,

the feeding means feeds the material along the surface to the platform,

and the platform receives a portion of material from the feeding meansand thereafter elevates the portion to an elevated position above thesurface to be picked up by the pickup head.

15. The machine of claim 14 wherein:

the cutter is below the platform in its elevated position so as not tocontact the pickup head when it picks up the cut portion lying on theplatform.

16. The machine of claim 14 wherein:

the cutter comprises an upwardly movable blade which is initiallypositioned below the surface, and

the platform is elevated in response to the upward movement of themovable blade.

17. The machine of claim 14 wherein:

the cutter comprises a movable blade which is initially positioned belowthe surface, and

said cutter also comprises a stationary blade positioned adjacent saidsurface.

18. The machine of claim 17 wherein:

the elevator platform is initially positioned below the surface.

19. The machine of claim 18 wherein:

the stationary blade has a bevelled portion which faces downwardly andin a direction opposite to the material-feeding direction forguiding theportion of the strip from the surface downwardly to the initial positionof the platform.

20. The machine of claim 12 wherein:

the platform comprises an upwardly facing surface having at least oneaperture therein,

and means connecting said at least one aperture to a vacuum sourcewhereby a portion of material lying on said surface will be held thereonby vacuum.

21. The machine of claim 20 further including:

valve means for disconnecting said at least one aperture from saidvacuum source as said pickup head moves to pickup the cut portion fromthe platform.

22. The machine of claim 21 further including:

means connecting a portion of the pickup head to a vacuum source wherebythe cut portion is picked up by said pickup head from said platform byvacuum.

23. The machine of claim 22 wherein:

the valve means switches the vacuum source from said at least oneaperture on the platform to the portion of the pickup head as saidpickup head moves to pick up the cut portion from the platform.

24. The machine of claim 12 wherein:

the platform comprises an unobstructed upwardly facing surface so as notto contact the pickup head when it picks up the cut portion from theplatform.

25. The machine of claim 24 wherein: the surface is substantially level.

26. A material handling method comprising the steps of:

supporting a portion of a strip of material,

feeding a portion of a strip of material,

supporting the portion of the strip of material,

cutting the portion from the remainder of the strip of material,

and elevating the cut portion.

29. The method of claim 28 wherein:

the steps of cutting and elevating occur substantially simultaneously.

30. The method of claim 29 further comprising:

picking up of the elevated cut portion.

1. A material handling device for use with a machine having a pickuphead for moving pieces of material cut from a strip from one position toanother position, said device comprising: a substantially horizontallyextending platform for supporting a portion of material, means forfeeding a portion of a strip of material to said platform in amaterial-feeding direction, and a cutter intermediate said feeding meansand said platform for cutting a portion of material from a strip ofmaterial whereby after a portion of material is cut from a strip ofmaterial that portion lies on the platform.
 2. The material handlingdevice of claim 1 further comprising: a base having a substantiallyhorizontally extending surface beneath the feeding means, the feedingmeans feeds the material along the surface to the platform, and theplatform receives a portion of material from the feeding means andthereafter elevates the portion to a position above the surface to bepicked up by a pickup.
 3. The material handling device of claim 2wherein: the cutter comprises a movable blade which extends transverseto the material-feeding direction and is initially positioned below thesurface, and the movable blade moves upward to cut the portion as theplatform elevates the portion.
 4. The material handling device of claim3 wherein: the platform is elevated in response to the upward movementof the movable blade.
 5. The material handling device of claim 4wherein: the movable blade is secured to a transversely extending arm ofa crank arm, the other arm of the crank arm being connected to a meansfor actuating the movable blade, the movable blade being pivotable abouta longitudinally extending axis defined by the point of intersection ofthe arms of the crank arm, and the bottom of the platform rests on thetransversely extending arm so that when the movable blade is actuated bythe actuating means, the transversely extending arm pivots about saidaxis and moves upward and simultaneously elevates the platform and movesthe movable blade upward.
 6. The material handling device of claim 2wherein: the base has a longitudinally extending groove therein whichextends below the surface, the feeding means comprises a reciprocablefinger driven by a piston in a cylinder, the finger has a tip whichextends downwardly and in a material-feeding direction, and a portion ofthe tip extends into the groove, the strip of material is fed from areel on which the strip has been wound, said strip having a plurality ofspaced transversely extending slits therein, and the reciprocable fingerhas a stroke longer than the spacing between adjacent slits whereby oneach materialfeeding stroke of the finger the tip thereof engages one ofthe slits and advances the strip material a distance substantially equalto the spacing between adjacent slits.
 7. The material handling deviceof claim 6 wherein: a pair of guide elements are positioned on saidsurface, said elements being spaced apart a distance substantially equalto the width of the strip with the groove positioned centrallytherebetween for guiding the strip along the surface as the strip is fedby said feeding means.
 8. The material handling device of claim 2wherein: the elevator platform is initially positioned below thesurface.
 9. The material handling device of claim 8 wherein: the cuttercomprises a movable blade extending transverse to the material-feedingdirection and is initially positioned below the surface, said cutteralso comprising a stationary blade positioned adjacent said surface andextending transverse to the material-feeding direction, the stationaryblade has a bevelled portion which faces downwardly and in a directionopposite to the material-feeding direction for guiding the portion ofthe strip from the surface downwardly to the initial position of thework station and for also positioning the strip between the stationaryblade and movable blade for cutting the portion from the strip when saidmovable blade moves upward past said stationary blade.
 10. The materialhandling device of claim 1 wherein: the platform comprises an upwardlyfacing surface having at least one aperture therein, and meansconnecting said at least one aperture to a vacuum source whereby aportion of material lying on said surface will be held thereon byvacuum.
 11. The material handling device of claim 10 wherein: saidsurface is substantially level.
 12. A machine comprising: asubstantially horizontally extending platform for supporting a portionof material, means for feeding a portion of a strip material to saidplatform in a material-feeding direction, a cutter intermediate saidfeeding means and said platform for cutting a portion of material from astrip of material whereby after a portion of material is cut from astrip of material that portion lies on the platform, and a pickup headfor picking up a cut portion of material lying on said platform and formoving the cut portion from its position on the platform to anotherposition on the machine.
 13. The machine of claim 12 wherein: saidmachine is a sewing machine having a sewing needle, and said pickup headpicks up a cut portion of material from said platform and moves the cutportion from its position on the platform to another position on thesewing machine adjacent the needle.
 14. The maching of claim 12 furthercomprising: a base having a substantially horizontally extending surfacebeneath the feeding means, the feeding means feeds the material alongthe surface to the platform, and the platform receives a portion ofmaterial from the feeding means and thereafter elevates the portion toan elevated position above the surface to be picked up by the pickuphead. sulfolane
 15. The machine of claim 14 wherein: the cutter is belowthe platform in its elevated position so as not to contact the pickuphead when it picks up the cut portion lying on the platform.
 16. Themachine of claim 14 wherein: the cutter comprises an upwardly movableblade which is initially positioned below the surface, and the platformis elevated in response to the upward movement of the movable blade. 17.The machine of claim 14 wherein: the cutter comprises a movable bladewhich is initially positioned below the surface, and said cutter alsocomprises a stationary blade positioned adjacent said surface.
 18. Themachine of claim 17 wherein: the elevator platform is initiallypositioned below the surface.
 19. The machine of claim 18 wherein: thestationary blade has a bevelled portion which faces downwardly and in adirection opposite to the material-feeding direction for guiding theportion of the strip from the surface downwardly to the initial positionof the platform.
 20. The machine of claim 12 wherein: the platformcomprises an upwardly facing surface having at least one aperturetherein, and means connecting said at least one aperture to a vacuumsource whereby a portion of material lying on said surface will be heldthereon by vacuum.
 21. The machine of claim 20 further including: valvemeans for disconnecting said at least one aperture from said vacuumsourcE as said pickup head moves to pickup the cut portion from theplatform.
 22. The machine of claim 21 further including: meansconnecting a portion of the pickup head to a vacuum source whereby thecut portion is picked up by said pickup head from said platform byvacuum.
 23. The machine of claim 22 wherein: the valve means switchesthe vacuum source from said at least one aperture on the platform to theportion of the pickup head as said pickup head moves to pick up the cutportion from the platform.
 24. The machine of claim 12 wherein: theplatform comprises an unobstructed upwardly facing surface so as not tocontact the pickup head when it picks up the cut portion from theplatform.
 25. The machine of claim 24 wherein: the surface issubstantially level.
 26. A material handling method comprising the stepsof: supporting a portion of a strip of material, cutting the portionfrom the remainder of the strip of material, elevating the cut portion,picking up the elevated cut portion, and thereafter feeding a portion ofthe remainder of the strip of material for subsequent supporting,cutting, and elevating thereof.
 27. The method of claim 26 wherein: thesteps of cutting and elevating occur substantially simultaneously.
 28. Amaterial handling method comprising the steps of: feeding a portion of astrip of material, supporting the portion of the strip of material,cutting the portion from the remainder of the strip of material, andelevating the cut portion.
 29. The method of claim 28 wherein: the stepsof cutting and elevating occur substantially simultaneously.
 30. Themethod of claim 29 further comprising: picking up of the elevated cutportion.